Ayagoz        ~47°50’E, ~80°26’E

Semipalatinsk, Kazakhstan

Find: 2000

Classification: Iron meteorite (IIIE)

History: A large iron meteorite was found in prairie by a horse rider in 2000, ~12 km south of Ayagoz. A 38.9 kg piece and a 7 kg piece were brought to two different dealers by Jevgenijs Suhanovs in Ayagoz city. Samples from both pieces were analyzed to confirm they came from the same meteorite.

Physical characteristics: The main mass is covered with light-brown rust. Cut surface reveals a fresh metallic interior.

Petrography: Examination of etched sections reveals a coarse octahedrite structure (Og) with kamacite bandwidth 1.35±0.37 mm (N=15). Neumann bands are common. Kamacite displays epsilon-structure. Black plessite is common. Notable minerals include schreibersite (common), chromite, troilite, daubreelite.

Geochemistry: (M. D’Orazio, DST-PI): Composition of the metal (ICP-MS; D’Orazio and Folco, 2003) is Ni=8.79, Co=0.484 (both in wt%), Cu=113, Ga=17.6, Ge=35, As=4.9, Mo=7.1, Ru=5.4, Rh=1.57, Pd=3.4, Sn=0.07, Sb=0.15, Ir=0.30, Pt=6.7, Au=0.83 (all in ppm).

Classification: Iron (IIIE)

Specimens: Type specimen and two polished sections at CEREGE